It looks like Mets star closer Edwin Diaz is officially back.
The crafty right-hander flashed his dominant form during his second live batting practice session since reporting for spring training on Friday afternoon at Clover Park.
Diaz threw a total of 20 pitches and he easily mowed down three of the team’s top hitters in Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, and Harrison Bader as he progresses after missing all of last season due to a knee injury suffered at the World Baseball Classic.
He fell behind Alonso during one at-bat, but after getting the slugger to chase on a pair of nasty sliders out of the zone, he easily retired him with some high heat.
Diaz was reportedly much sharper than his first live BP session, which took place last week, and he has his teammates and coaches encouraged with how his stuff looks.
“He was pretty good today,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “It was really good to see him go through the live BP and face some of our guys. The feedback from the hitters, they’re really excited to have him on the mound.”
While Diaz appears to be back to his usual unhittable form, we likely won’t see him out there in Grapefruit League action right away.
The team is encouraged with what they’ve seen from the 29-year-old, but he still needs to take the next step in his progression before being cleared for game action.
“There’s a progression,” Mendoza said. “The biggest thing is for him to get comfortable on the mound facing hitters before we move him to the next phase which is covering bases and fielding his position. But he’s moving around well, feeling good and that’s what we want.”
Having the dominant Diaz at the backend of the bullpen will be a huge boost for Mendoza and the Mets as they look to rebound from an extremely disappointing 2023 campaign.
